The Marauders Christmas with Krampus
by Operative18
Summary: What would happen when the four most mischievous people in Hogwarts accidentally unleash a monster who punishes naughty children? This will be a Christmas the Marauders will never forget... if they survive.
1. Broom Race

"Deck the hell with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la. T'is the season to be jolly, fa la la la-"

"GANGWAY!" James Potter and Sirius Black zoomed past Remus on their broomsticks, causing Remus to freeze in place.

"... All I wanted to do was hang ornaments… Is that too much to ask?" Remus asked himself as he calmed down.

Meanwhile, James and Sirius were tied neck and neck in their race around the grounds. They went crazy, doing spins, loop-de-loops, and sharp corner turns.

"There's the finish line! Eat my dust, Padfoot!"

"In your-" Suddenly, the two felt their brooms immediately come to a halt, and they flew off, rolled on the ground, and stopped right in front of Professor McGonagall.

"Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?"

"…Happy Christmas?" James said weakly and then smiled widely.

"Hey, James… I think we're busted."


	2. Into the Fray

"Fine mess you got us into! _Restricted to the castle grounds during holiday_. Everyone else goes home, but not us. Nice plan, James!"

"Sirius, need I remind you that the race was YOUR idea?"

"You're both idiots, now shut up." Remus snapped at them while putting the finishing touches on the tree in the Gryffindor Common Room. "In any case, I'll be here to keep you company. I don't really want to travel home with my… 'furry little problem' popping up tonight."

"What about you, Peter? Heading home?" Sirius asked as he lay splayed out on one of the couches.

"Nah. My mum and dad took a trip, so I would be home by myself. And they don't really trust me in that kind of situation." Peter explained as he kept moving the ornaments Remus put on to keep them evenly-spaced. "Besides, it's kind of my Christmas wish come true. Spending more time with friends over the holidays."

James looked at Peter. "Hmm. Mine is to kiss Evans under the mistletoe."

"We know." Remus, Sirius and Peter grumbled, having heard the sentiment MANY times during the month.

"Personally, mine would be to have my 'furry little problem' put to good use for once. What about you, Sirius?"

"…I want to kill a monster." he stated which got him looks from the others. "…What?"

James walked to the fireplace. "Well, I am bored out of my mind. What say we go explore?"

"McGonagall will kill us if she finds us wandering around." Remus remarked.

"So we use stealth." James snapped back, pushing against the fireplace. The mantle folded in, making a tunnel appear in the chimney. "Gentlemen, our chariot awaits."

"A pleasure to scheme with you as always, my good man." Sirius mocked and walked down the tunnel.

"And once more, my fine fellows, INTO THE FRAY!" Remus added, following Sirius.

"I got the map!" Peter muttered, grabbing the folded piece of parchment and following the others. James followed behind, pressed against a brick, and the fireplace folded back in, giving the illusion that nothing had occurred.


	3. Letting the Monster Out

"Man, it reeks in here!"

"It's an ancient tunnel in a castle that was built 900 years ago, and barely ever used. What did you expect?" James snapped as the four walked down with Peter leading the way, reading off the map.

"Okay, the next right should take us to the Shrieking Shack, but straight would get us to the kitchen."

At that point Sirius looked left to see a tunnel strewn with ice all around it. "What about left?"

"There is no left on the map." At that, all of them stopped and turned to see what Sirius had discovered. The tunnel had icicles coming down from the top, a sheet of ice on the walls, and a coating of frost on the ground.

"This isn't on the map?"

"Nope, see for yourself." Peter handed the map to James, and according to the map, the tunnel didn't exist.

"Gentlemen, we are in uncharted territory. For once, the map is wrong. Let's rectify that."

"I'm all for exploring, but uh… which one of us is going to go down the icy tunnel of doom first?" Remus sarcastically asked, and they all proceeded to try and enter at the same time, which made them squash each other.

"One. At. A. Time." James remarked, and he proceeded first. Remus followed, then Sirius, and finally Peter at the rear. The tunnel didn't seem cold, just eerie, as if its mere presence was creating the cold.

"There's a door up ahead. Come on." They arrived, and easily pulled it open, having to avoid the occasional falling icicle. Inside, the room was filled with lit torches lining the walls, dead plants lining the floor, and in the middle of the room…

"Is that… a statue?" Remus questioned the presence of a statue of what seemed to be Saint Nicholas. A jolly, round man with a gleeful face and a long flowing robe holding a torch.

"… Weird. Why would they put this in here?" James walked towards the statue, his curiosity intrigued. However, Sirius noticed something in the dead plants near James' feet.

"PRONGS! DON'T-" but his warning came too late, as James set off the trap panel, and dove quickly to avoid the pendulum swinging down to chop him in two. As he hit the floor, the blade struck the statue, cracking it in the chest. The pendulum went back up and James slowly got up off the floor.

"What the hell was that?!" James shouted, only to hear a cracking sound. He looked back at the statue, to see it cracking more. But, it wasn't breaking or falling away, simply cracking along the surface.

"I have a feeling that is not good." Peter mumbled as the statue ceased cracking and blood started flowing out of the cracks. The liquid covered the statue, until there was no white marble left showing. And then, it started to change.

The statue's features turned into something like a monster from the Defense against the Dark Arts textbooks. It grew a short fat snout, long fangs, and curved horns. The belly fell away, and the clothing under the robe turned to rough black fur. Its legs became like a goat or a bull. The robe aged from pristine to ragged and torn. The hands became longer and clawed, and the torch it was holding became a long rusty chain with a hook. And it had no eyes, just sockets, filled with blood.

"What. Is. THAT?!" Remus asked, cowering in fear near the door. The creature stared them down and then pointed in their direction.

" ** _You… are… naughty… Krampus will enjoy… feasting on you._** " It growled out, its voice like a cat's nails being dragged across a flaming chalkboard.

"… Intriguing offer. Let me offer a counter proposal… RUN!" James yelled out as the four scattered to the door, racing down the tunnel.

" ** _Krampus will find you… Him and his workers… always win._** " At that, they heard a giant buzzing noise, and saw a swarm of something rush towards them. The finally arrived at the end of the tunnel, and the others proceeded to go back to the Common Room.

"NO! THIS WAY! TO THE KITCHEN!" James shouted back, and the others changed course. They proceeded down the other tunnel, and stumbled out into the kitchen, rushing past a few house elves. They burst through the kitchen doors and found themselves face to face with Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Oh, hello boys. Are you alright?"


	4. Dumbledore explains the Legend

"Um… Headmaster… Would you be able to help us with a research project we're doing?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore looked confused for a moment. "Oh, of course. What are you researching? Shall we walk?" The Marauders followed Dumbledore down the hall.

"Tell me, Dumbledore, have you ever heard of some species called Krampus? Big, furry, horned monster?" James asked bluntly.

"Well, actually, yes. Krampus is not a species, though. He is a single entity, the only one in the world like him. He is the malformed version of Saint Nicholas. Whereas Saint Nicholas gives good children presents, Krampus devours and mauls naughty children. His helpers, the frost demons, can wield ice and snow in order to capture children. He is a most ancient legend, originating from Alpine myths, I believe."

"So, is he real? Or just a story? Because if he is, I'm a little worried." Sirius joked.

"Oh, I assure you, while Krampus is indeed real, he is contained. Nobody is in any danger of Krampus this or any year. Well, good night. I have some business to attend to in my office." And with that, Dumbledore headed up the stairs to his office, leaving the marauders behind to ponder what he said.

James turned to the others. "So, we accidentally unleashed the demonic version of Santa Claus onto the castle grounds, along with monster elves who hunt down naughty children, and WE'RE at the top of the list."

"Yep, we really messed up this time." Peter added.

"Ah well. What's Christmas without a monster attack?" Sirius remarked, causing the others to stare at him in confusion.

"Glad ONE of us is being positive." Remus joked, and they walked away. "Where are we going?"

"Library. If we can find anything to help us beat this thing, it should be in there." James replied, and they came to a four way intersection in the halls. James pointed right. "This way."

As they turned the corner, they came face-to-face with an army of what looked like small skeletons made entirely out of ice, with blood red eyes and razor sharp icicle teeth. The creatures all looked at the Marauders and chattered like a mob of insects.

James pointed to his left. "On second thought, I think it's that way." And they took off, sprinting down the halls, followed shortly by the frost demons.

"They're gaining on us!"

"Really?! Gee, Peter, _**WE DIDN'T NOTICE**_!"

"Inciendio!" James yelled, firing a firebolt and evaporating the first row of demons. The others repeated the action, and they made it inside the library with none following them. They leaned against the doors, catching their breath.

"What are you idiots doing?" They all jumped and whipped around, wands at the ready, only to see Lily Evans holding a herbology book.

"… Stand down, men. Position 15." James muttered, and the four relaxed and acted like everything was normal.


	5. Research and Planning

"Lily… Hi. What're you doing here?" James shuddered with his current situation: chased by an army of monster behind him, and trying to bluff to his crush in front of him.

"I'm staying on the grounds because my parents said I have to start making more friends this year."

"Ironic." Sirius muttered, only to have James elbow him in the stomach. "What gives?"

James turned around to the others and whispered. "Look for anything on Krampus, I'll make sure she gets out of her safely. Go." The others scampered off and James took Evans by the arm.

"Well, you know, you really should be getting back to the dormitory. Who knows what's happening out there in the halls? Snowball fights indoors, house elves using brooms as weapons, giant monsters attacking- anything. Well, see you later." He rambled on before looking above him to see a bit of mistletoe hanging above their heads.

"Um, Evans, not to bother you or anything, but…" He pointed above, and Evans looked up to see the mistletoe.

"…Fine." She muttered, and pulled him by his tie for a slow sensual kiss. As she pulled away and walked off, James stood frozen in shock and awe of what just happened.

"See you later… Wow… What was I doing? ... Oh right, monster on the loose." He realized he was still on mission and quickly ran towards the shelves, trying to find his colleagues. He found Peter first, who was flipping through a standard monsters guide.

"Nothing so far. Sirius and Remus are three rows in that way." Peter replied, and James went to the others. Sirius was on one side and Remus on another, both scouring the shelves for any answers. "Anything?"

"Herbology, Guide to Advanced Spells, What's in the Afterlife…" Remus read off titles.

"Got it! " _Alpen Legends and Folklore._ " This is it!" Sirius yelled out as he flipped through the pages, a grim expression falling on his face. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"What? What does it say?" James shouted.

"How screwed are we?" Peter asked, just arriving to the others.

"Does it say he's immortal? Can we NOT kill him?" Remus barked out.

"I don't know!" Sirius blurted out, turning the book so the others could see its pages. "It's all in German!" At that, the others stared at him angrily. "… What?"

"Sirius, you do realize Moony reads German, don't you?" James responded, at which Remus grabbed the book and started to flip through the pages.

"Let's see. Nope, nope, nope. Ah, here we go. _Krampus, the spirit of evil during the yule season_ , yada yada yada… Um, _can be trapped in an idol or vessel of his counterpart Saint Nicholas indefinitely_. The statue!"

"Okay, so we just have to find another statue. Problem solved, right?" Sirius asked.

" _However…_ " Remus continued reading.

"Nope." James replied.

" _However, if freed from the vessel or idol, Krampus can only be destroyed by a symbol of the holiday season by more than one opponent_. Okay then. So, what exactly would be a "symbol of the season"? Because I'm pretty sure we can't just stab him in the eye with a candy cane. Also, we don't know if these people celebrated the holidays the same way as us." Remus explained.

"Hang on. The Alpines were full of pagan traditions, right?" Sirius asked, gaining a lot of confused looks from the others. "I pay attention in class… sometimes. Anyway, a pagan tradition that survived into modern day, and the holiday season is bringing an evergreen tree indoors."

"… A Christmas tree. We can stop him a Christmas tree! … But how, exactly?" James pondered.

Peter took out his pocket knife. "I got an idea. Let's get to the Great Hall. We need the big tree." They all took off down the library hall, and ran out to the Great Hall. They got to the staircase, and proceeded down, only to stop midway, seeing Krampus on the level above them.

"Nobody move… Maybe he won't see us." At that, Krampus turned and pointed at the Marauders.

" ** _Children… You… are… mine._** "

"He saw us. Time to run." Remus quipped, and they took off down the stairs and towards the Great Hall. Krampus stampeded after them, and James saw something out the window.

"MOONY!" James caught Remus and grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him to face Krampus and pointed at Remus in the face. "Stay right there."

"You mean facing the bloodthirsty, terrifying, gaining-on-us MONSTER?" Remus shouted.

"Did you forget Remus?… You're a monster too… on occasion. _Bombarda Maxima!_ " James pointed his wand and blew the wall to pieces, revealing a full moon's light in the gaping hole.

"Oh, Prongs, you-"

"Just keep him occupied! We'll come get you, we promise." He shouted as he ran off, leaving Remus in the hallway, transforming into his cursed body. As the others got to the Great Hall and started to seal the doors, they heard a werewolf's howl and a monstrous growl.

"Good luck, Moony." And with that, they closed the doors


	6. Killing Krampus

"Okay, Peter, so what's your master plan?" Sirius asked as they raced towards the tree.

"If we can get the top sharp enough and angle it just right, we might be able to use the tree as a spear. One moment." And with that, Peter changed into his Animagi form of Wormtail leaving his clothing behind and proceeded to climb up the tree branches. Once at the top, he changed back and broke through the branches. "Toss me my knife."

"Here, catch." James threw the knife and Peter began to whittle the top of the tree, making it into a sharp point slowly but surely. Outside the doors, they heard howls and roars coming closer.

"Peter, hurry! We're kind of on a deadline here!" James shouted.

"Got it!" Peter replied, before turning to his form as Wormtail, falling through the tree and scurrying back into his discarded clothes. "Wait, my shirt's on backwards. Damn it."

"We can fix it later. Come on. _Wingardium Leviosa_!" James made the tree hover, slowly titling it to face the tip towards the door. At that moment, the doors flung open, and a ragged and bloody creature was thrown inside. Its body was bruised, and probably broken, and blood covered several parts of its limbs.

"Moony… oh boy." And the three turned towards the door to see Krampus walk in, holding a bloody hook on his chain and a scar across his face. His breath was ragged and heavy, his fur and cloak stained with blood, and his claws were broken on some fingers.

" ** _You are troublesome… But no more… Now… Krampus will feast on your flesh_** " At this, he started running forward. His footsteps pounded on the stone floors, while the Marauders stood still, aiming the tree tip. James steadied the tree, while Sirius held his wand at the ready, Peter behind him. Krampus raised his chain and roared out, and he came with three feet of them when-

"Now! _Locomotor Mortis_!" Sirius shouted, freezing Krampus' legs, causing his momentum to fling himself right in the path of the tree, impaling him in the heart. His breathing became slow and ragged, and his arms went limp at his sides.

"It's over, Krampus. Merry Christmas." James mocked at the monster, and pushed the tree in further. At that point, Krampus' body began to change color. It became crystal white, clear as paper, and as frigid as ice. It covered him entirely, leaving him just a frozen version of himself.

"Well, that worked out pretty-" Sirius began, only to be interrupted by Krampus' frozen body being shattered and spread across the room in the form of snow. Three inches of the white fluff covered the entire Great Hall, leaving the Marauders in the middle of a miniature winter wonderland.

"I hate snow." Sirius mumbled.

"Wait, wasn't there something else we needed to do?" Peter asked, only to be greeted with a moan of an animal.

"Oh, right. Moony is a werewolf right now." James remembered, and knocked Remus out with a blow to the head.

"Prongs!"

"Oh, he'll be fine."


	7. Christmas Morning

It was Christmas morning, and the Marauders were in their bathrobes gathered around the Common Room Christmas tree, enjoying the serenity.

"Well, let's recap: We added onto the map's details, discovered an ancient deity, killed it, and got each and every one of our Christmas wishes all in less than 2 hours. Pretty fine way to spend the holidays." James mused.

"True. I got to kill a monster, Remus got to use his furry little problem for good for once, Peter got to spend more time with us, and you Prongs, got to snog Evans." Sirius replied.

"Oh yeah, what WAS the kiss like? Huh, huh? Tell us." Peter butted in.

"Shut it, Wormtail."

"Was there tongue?" Remus chipped in.

"MOONY!" At that point, the doors burst open and McGonagall came inside.

"You four, come with me. Now!" The Marauders all hopped up and followed McGonagall downstairs. Before they arrived at the Great Hall, McGonagall stopped and pointed at the hole in the wall that James had blasted open. "Do any of you have an explanation for this?"

James walked to the wall, and looked around, surveying the damage. "Looks like amateur redecorating if you ask me."

"… Never mind then. Just go eat your breakfasts before I lose it." And McGonagall opened up the doors to the Great Hall to see the few students who had stayed behind playing and running around in three inches of snow. A few Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were in a snowball fight with a few Slytherins, a group of Hufflepuffs were building a snowman, and the rest were simply frolicking or making snow-angels. McGonagall turned back to the Marauders.

"… Anything to say? … At all?" She huffed at them.

"Thanks for the snow, professor." James cheered.

"Such a nice gesture to the other students." Remus chimed in.

"You are truly a caring woman." Sirius replied.

"Keep up the good work." Peter added. And with that, they all started running in and dove right into the snowball fight with the others, leaving McGonagall frozen in confusion, until she decided to just walk back to her office.

(Happy Holidays, everybody!)


End file.
